Shirley Mitchell
|birth_place = Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |died = |death_place = Westwood, California, U.S. |occupation = Actress/Radio personality, Voice Artist |yearsactive = 1942-2013, her death |series = I Love Lucy |character = Marion Strong |episodes = "Lucy Tells the Truth" and "Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress" in Season 3 "Lucy's Club Dance" in Season 4 }} Shirley Mitchell (born November 4, 1919 - died November 11, 2013) appeared as Marion Strong in three''I Love Lucy episodes, appearing in "Lucy Tells the Truth" and "Lucy and Ethel Buy the Same Dress" in Season 3 and "Lucy's Club Dance" in Season 4.'' Early life Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Shirley attended the University of Toledo and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Career Radio After moving to Chicago, Shirley appeared in the network broadcast of The First Nighter and played small parts in various soap operas including The Story of Mary Marlin and The Road of Life. After she relocated to to Los Angeles, she played opposite Joan Davis in The Sealtest Village Store. She also starred as Louella in The Life of Riley and joined the cast of Fibber McGee and Molly as Alice Darling in 1943. Her most prominent radio role was that of the charismatic Southern belle Leila Ransom on The Great Gildersleeve radio show beginning in September 1942. TV In 1953, Mitchell joined the cast of CBS's I Love Lucy playing the part of Lucy Ricardo's friend with the funny laugh, Marion Strong. As of July 2012, she is the only recurring adult cast member still living following the deaths of Doris Singleton in 2012 and Peggy Rea in 2011. In 1962, she played Janet Colton in thirteen episodes of another CBS sitcom, Pete and Gladys, which co-starred future Dragnet and M*A*S*H co-star Harry Morgan and Cara Williams, with Peter Leeds cast as her husband, George Colton. From 1965 to 1967, she appeared as neighbor Marge Thornton on NBC's Please Don't Eat the Daisies. In the same year she appeared in Episode 13, Season 2 of The Dick Van Dyke Show, when she played Shirley Rogers opposite Bob Crane as Harry Rogers in "Somebody Has to Play Cleopatra". In 1963, she appeared on the CB S television sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies as Opal Clampett (the wife of Jake Clampett, an out-of-work actor). In 1966, she appeared in Green Acres as a nurse and as Oliver Wendell Douglas's old friend, Wanda. Between 1967 and 1968, she portrayed Kate Bradley's cousin, Mae Belle Jennings, on Petticoat Junction. In 1968, she appeared in the Season 1 finale of The Doris Day Show as Mrs. Loomis, a woman who accuses Billy of stealing $5.00 from her purse after she dropped it. In 1972, she was the voice of Laurie Holiday on the Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, The Roman Holidays. In 1994, Mitchell voiced Queen Sneezle-bee in Playtoons No. 4: The Mandarin Prince. Recent work In 2007, Shirley appeared at the 5th Annual TV Land Awards where Lucille Ball was posthumously awarded the 'Legacy of Laughter' award. In 2012, she voiced Betty White in MAD episode, "Betty White & the Huntsman / Ancient Greek Mythbusters". In 2013, she was her guest star in Poetry Contest: Poems in History. Personal life In 1992, Shirley married songwriter Jay Livingston and the two remained married until his death in 2001. She was previously married to Julian Frieden with whom she had two children. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mitchell died on Monday, November 11, 2013 at her condominium in Westwood, California. She was 94. External links * *Jay Livingston, 86, Who Wrote Hit Songs With Ray Evans for the Movies, Dies Category:Actors Category:Guest stars